What is Heaven like? A place where all your wishes come true? Where you can see your deceased family again? Does it start the moment you die? You enter this place called Heaven and it all goes uphill from there, right? In my Heaven, there is always light, there is no loneliness and there is happiness always.

Death comes upon me, all so suddenly. I remember how it occurred. My younger twin sister Eira and I were playing toss football outside in the backyard of my house. It was night at the time and I was seventeen. The moon shone brightly in the star lit sky and the air about us was cool and crisp. Then my sister threw the football. It sailed out over the gate. I, being the ever-so- risky type, decided to go get it. So I opened the gate and stepped out onto the sidewalk. There it was, sitting in the middle of the road. Since there were no cars passing by, I quickly made a run for it and got the football. Then a blaring honk suddenly blasted. I glanced up to see a truck come at me. There was no time to react; it all came too fast. Instead of darkness, like I expected, there was light. It was so bright, not blinding at all, soft, and evanescent. Soon I found myself sitting up on a bunch of clouds; they were yielding and misty. It felt like I was sitting on air!

Being shrouded in this light finally brought me to believe that I was dead; the random people in white, with wings attached to their backs gave it away. I was pretty pissed because I didn’t want to be dead yet. However as I followed an angel named Ria, I had to get over it. I knew that it would all have to suffice somehow. The girl had soft ivory hair all over her head, like a halo that framed her delicate face. She had big, absorbing, innocent, amber eyes. She holds all the stereotypical descriptions that would fit an angel. She has the soft baby-looking light skin, a cute cherubic face and a small slender five-foot frame. Clothed in a white lace summer dress, she looked like a porcelain doll. Although her age was unknown, she looked around the ages of fifteen or sixteen.

“You are in Heaven now, Artemis Choisuel,” the angel’s gentle voice expressed. Her smile brightened her ivory fragile exterior. I rolled my eyes.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” I said crossing my arms over my chest. She knew my name. I wasn’t impressed at all. I was still wearing the same clothing I died in: a red and white football jersey (belonging to my boyfriend) and black skinny jeans. I was barefoot.

Anyway, I also noticed that I was never alone here. Ria was always with me, even when I didn’t want her to be. It had been a few days since I arrived in this magical place; I’ve seen so much. Heaven here is like summer all the time. I am a summer girl after all, and I totally loved it. Also, there were houses; they were like little cabins. Outside everyone’s backyard was what he or she wanted it to be like. It was Heaven so whatever you wanted, you got it.
In my home, it was modern, cozy, warm and quiet. When I was in the mood sometimes I’d turn up the stereo in my home. I did like rock music, so I’d run out into my backyard where the ocean waved at me. The sun shone brightly in the sky, I’d run into the ocean’s waters and cool off with that, all while Amy Lee’s voice from EVANESCENCE sang loudly in the background. It was all good fun.

Now I find myself walking around. At the moment I stand in a beautiful field of flowers. They are white, called Chrysanthemums. I felt as if the air itself was embracing me whilst I looked around. This place is breath taking; I couldn’t help but feel awed by this. Looking up, I saw the sky just like on Earth. It was endless and blue.
From the Cherry blossom trees little pink petals wafted around in the gentle breeze landing on the grassy ground I stood on. It felt warm here, like the light that forever enveloped around me. I asked Ria of this, and she told me it was my spirit and that everyone had one. That’s why there was no darkness, because everyone in Heaven had a spirit, pure and light like God. The one who blessed everyone residing here, she told me that living in this place was going to be peaceful and happy. I hoped so, because at the moment I was missing my family and friends down on earth.

I felt the longing for them tug at my heart, the loneliness of not having Dimitri here besides me, made me feel a bit unhappy. I sank onto the ground, feeling the soft petals fall gently at my feet.
“Artemis, you're not smiling anymore…” Ria said, she knelt down besides me, her hand reached out and touched the side of my face, her thumb finger gently caressed the soft flesh of my cheek. Her eyes looked a bit sad as they met mine.
“I miss my family, I miss Dimitri” I told her. I raised my hands up, holding them to my heart where the pain hurt most.

“Then let’s see them now!” she exclaimed, returning back to her normal chipper demeanor.
My eyes widened a bit in astonishment, she smiled a gentle warm smile. “We can see your family!” She took my hand and pulled me up to my feet, walking off a little into the wide-open spaces all round us she hesitated. Releasing my hand, she turned towards the field and waved her arms in the air, making round movements.
A white veil of light escaped her fingertips, shooting out in front of us. The slender wisps curved into a large oval shape. It had thin silvery spirals running down its frame. I saw my reflection on the glassy surface of the sphere; I looked refreshed. As I peered at my heart-shaped face, the fair complexion of my skin gave off that glow. It was tinted in a bit of silver as well, my black hair lay smooth and silken streaming down my shoulders, and the tips curled in perfect midnight ringlets down the rest of my body stopping at my waist. Today, I wore a white tank top with a black mini, red and black striped over-the-knee highs paired off with my favorite tough Chucks. My lavender eyes sparkled at the light transmitted by the round orb hovering before me. It was like looking into a full-length mirror.

“It’s called, the Looking Glass,” Ria informed me smiling at me delighted.

I looked at her and I nodded, showing I understood this, already getting used to the fact that a lot of Angels here had powers.
“All you have to do is think of who or what you wish to see, and it will show you,” Ria explained.

I diverted my gaze back to the gleaming surface of the glass. Slowly a mist of blue and white developed deep within the recesses of the orb, a picture appeared. I wanted to see my family and boyfriend. There they were: my father Ian, my mother Nephele and twin sister Eira. A little farther away from the group, stood my boyfriend Dimitri. At my funeral, a ring of my family and friends watched the gleaming mahogany casket as it slowly descended into the earth.
The burial of moi.

“They aren’t crying!” I said appalled by this. Looking at their faces, their eyes were sad, but they were looking up at the sky, a gentle smile spreading on their lips. I zoomed in on Dimitri Ryder, my boyfriend. He too seemed to be looking up at me, his beautiful blue jewel-like eyes were hopeful. Accompanied by the half smile I loved so much on his face. I wanted to touch him. Feel the olive skin I adored, the rich ebony of his slick pin-straight black hair atop a very skillful and intelligent head. Feel the muscles of his well-sculpted, athletic body. Above all, I desired to feel his strong arms weaving protectively around me…his warmth.

I extended my arm out to him; my hand yearned to touch his gorgeous face. My fingers instead felt the cool glass of the screen, which trailed over his hot features. I missed him; the only thing I wanted was for him to be happy. That was my true wish.

A few years have passed by, I was still here in Heaven obviously, but through the looking glass Ria taught me how to create. I could always see them. The people I loved on earth. I quickly scanned out my family, they too were happy and moving on.

I saw my sister Eira, every time she came home from school, she would talk to me. Take a picture, (our last one together, I had been sort of a tomboy then, she was always girly,) and go off and tell me about her day. Who she met, whom she had a crush on and babble on and on. I hugged Ria whenever she’d do this. It meant that she hadn’t forgotten me.
My parents also kept me alive in the house, they’d also talk to me, sometimes they would do something and then my name would pop up in their minds suddenly. My father would slink into reminiscences about the fun times we had together, while working on his papers. My mother would look at clothing I used to wear, yes she would cry at times, but part of her knew that I was in a better place, and that I was okay.
I always I kept Dimitri’s jersey. Holding it so sacredly in my hands, I’d watch him constantly. He finished High School, a promise we made to each other when we were in junior high. He’s in college now, in his dorm, lying in bed. He was looking at a picture of us together on the 4th of July several years ago. He smiled as he traced his finger around my head, stopping at my chest, then he brought the picture to his heart. Closing his eyes he thought pleasantly of me.
“He is happy, just thinking of you,” Ria whispered to me. We both sat on the cloud that made up the floor of all of Heaven. Staring at the screen portraying him, it was better than HDTV.

They kept me strong in their memories all the time. Living in this light, having a friend I could trust and seeing the smiles on the people that I loved so dearly made my Heaven complete. At this moment, as I held his jersey close to my heart, I realized that this was true heaven.

My Heaven.